1. Technical Field
This invention relates to exercise bars and, more particularly, to a hand-operable exercise bar for toning an upper muscular region of a body while a person is walking and/or jogging.
2. Prior Art
People in all walks of life can benefit from increasing the strength in their wrists and forearms. There are various pieces of exercise equipment that may be used to develop strength in the wrists and forearms. Such equipment includes weights suspended from ropes, compression exercisers which comprise of springs or other resilient materials that can be squeezed in a user's hand, and small bar bells. Much of this equipment is not easily portable.
There are hand and wrist exercisers of the general type which include a pair of hand grips which are mounted generally coaxially to each other and which can be rotated relative to each other against a resistance force. Such devices can be made to be lightweight and portable. A user can use such devices to develop his or her forearm muscles by counter-rotating the hand grips against the resistance force. Users of such devices can also benefit by loosening and stretching the muscles and tendons of their wrists.
A problem with some such wrist exercisers is that the length between the hand grips is fixed and cannot be adjusted. Consequently, a wrist exerciser which may be suitable for use by one individual may be too large or too small for another individual. The exerciser may thus offer too little or too much resistance to provide sufficient exercise to other individuals. Some other exercise devices of this general type allow the resistance force to be adjusted. However, often the adjustments are not particularly precise or repeatable, thus the resistance setting tends to change as the hand grips on the device are rotated while a user exercises. Finally, many such previous devices do not provide accurate, repeatable calibration of the resistance provided by the device.
Accordingly, a need remains for a hand-operable exercise bar in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an exercise bar that is easy and convenient to use, has an adjustable length, is relatively light weight in design, and allows a fitness enthusiast to exercise his upper body while walking or jogging. Such an exercise apparatus provides an effective way to exercise one's arms and upper body. The versatility of the exercise bar makes it appealing since the user can maximize the benefits that they received from the time they spent working out. This is particularly appealing for a busy person who does not have time to walk and then spend additional time exercising their upper body.